Man, I admire Kobe Bryant's hard work and dedication so much. That has really been an integral part of his success and why he is one of the greatest players in the NBA today. Glad to see others appreciating his work ethic. Keep it up Kobe!

"He's not just going through the motions when he's shooting jump shots. They're game shots, at game speed," Triano said. "And the repetitions ... over and over and over. Like, three-point shots. There are a lot of (NBA) guys, you'll watch them make 25 from each spot. He's like, 100, 200 from the corner every night. And you'd think he'd be done and he's going on to the next spot. And he goes back and he shoots fadeaways and he shoots 'em off the bounce. I was just like, `Holy smoke.' You get tired throwing the ball back, let alone shooting it."

Think about that image of solitary toil in the coming weeks, when Bryant, favourite to win the NBA's regular-season MVP award, will almost certainly make a compelling post-season case that he's the greatest working athlete not named Tiger Woods. And think about it, too, when you're watching the Raptors and wondering why certain players on their young roster haven't progressed as athletes. Perhaps it's because progressing as an athlete is a lot of work at the expense of presumably more enjoyable options. Triano can tell you.

"This was the elite of the elite (a U.S. team that included LeBron James) and (Bryant) was the only one who was (working hard after regular hours)," Triano said. "A couple of times other guys would go back to the gym, but most of the time it was just him."